The Uprising
Created | 2025
The star-shaped cells in this image are astrocytes. In a healthy brain, astrocytes support neuronal activity and keep the brain’s environment stable. Here, they are up in arms, trying to protect the brain from the invasion of a tumour by forming a border around it.
Verena and Alex’s research focuses on paediatric high-grade gliomas, a particularly devastating and fast-growing type of brain cancer that occurs in children and adolescents. There is currently no cure for these cancers.
By creating models of human cancers in mice, scientists can study how the brain’s own cells interact with tumours. Understanding the interplay between cancer and healthy brain cells helps develop better treatments.
Artists
